Beginning Bolivia

La Paz & Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

After 3 flights, a 6 hour layover, 2 slices of pizza and 2 milkshakes we made it to our second country- Bolivia. The first thing that hit us landing in La Paz was the altitude. Not being able to take more than a few steps without needing to take a breather was a challenge, especially after a long day of flights and with big backpacks.

Luckily we checked in to a lovely hostel in La Paz 'Arthy's Guesthouse' which had rooms built around a central courtyard and a kitchen for us to make a quick dinner before heading to bed. 

We are travelling Bolivia by bus so most places we only see for one or two days. Our first stop. La Paz. Still feeling the altitude on our first day in Bolivia, we visited the markets - something we were told La Paz is famous for. These are dotted all over the city, with various items for sale - vegetables (avacados the size of my head), lightbulbs, football shirts and so much more. With a maze of different things for sale, we also wanted to have a look at the 'Witches Market', which was supposed to offer up some unusual items.

Meandering through various side streets, we found the Witches Market and before we knew it came face to face with dead dried llamas. This came as a little shock at first, but we later found out that they are llama fetuses, that are buried outside houses as a form of protection from evil sprits. Various other unusual items were also found as we walked cautiously through the market such as dried bird beaks and crushed bugs, all said to be used as natural remedies and cures. We decided to just stuck to paracedomal for the time being.

After a short stop in La Paz, we headed on to an overnight bus to Uyuni, this was where we went on a tour to do our main activity in Bolivia - the Salt Flats (or Salar de Uyuni to the native tongue)! Uyuni is a very small and dusty town with not much going but we managed to eat well, rest up and get ready for our tour. 

We went on a 3 day jeep tour with Red Planet Tours, who we would highly recommend. The first day we drove across the salt flats which was an incredible experience. The Salt Flats themselves are almost as big as Northern Ireland and it looked like smooth snow for miles. After the obligatory perspective photo shoot on the salt flats we visited Fish Island, where an island of cacti had grown over hundreds of years in the middle of the salt flats. This was enough for the first day as we stayed in a basic hostel in the middle of nowhere. We had a chance to get to know the people in our jeep (particularly our Bolivian tour guide Juan who told us all about life as a llama farmer) and enjoy some delicious Bolivian dinner before bed.

The next day begun by a trip to the lake to see the Flamingos who lived in the middle of the salt flats and we also saw the Red Lake where the water had been coloured by the materials from the nearby mountains. We were then taken to the Sol de Mañana Geyser - where we saw hot bubbling mud coming out from the ground at over 200C. The day ended perfectly with dinner and the chance to bathe in the natural thermal springs on top of the mountains and look out at the stars for hours. We were told this is one of the best places in the world for star gazing, being so high up there is very little light pollution and the air is so thin.

The final day we stopped off at the Salvador Dahli desert- somewhere that supposedly inspired Dahli's works and the rock tree that had formed through wind to look like a tree before heading back to Uyuni town amazed by the different sights.